About

This resource was created by a partnership of family carers, practitioners and researchers. It draws on materials and ideas from Early Positive Approaches to Support (E-PAtS); a co-produced family carer support programme led by Dr Nick Gore and Dr Jill Bradshaw. The resource is for people who have a family member with a learning disability (of any age) to offer support during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Contributors:

Dr Nick Gore: Nick is a Clinical Psychologist and Researcher who leads on the Early Positive Approaches to Support programme

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Debbie Austin: Debbie is a Family Carer, E-PAtS and CBF-PBS co-facilitator, and a Physiotherapist for a Community Learning Disability Team.

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Dr Jill Bradshaw: Jill is a Speech and Language Therapist and Researcher.  She has been involved in the development of the Early Positive Approaches to Support programme from the beginning

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Joanne Sweeney: Family Support Manager for Mencap Northern Ireland.  Joanne and the family support team offer early intervention support to parents and carers of children with a learning disability.

Dr Mark Murphy: Mark is a Clinical Psychologist working primarily in special education settings.   

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Jen Beaumont: Jen has been an Early Positive Approaches to Support Co-facilitator for the past 4 years. She has 5 children, 3 of whom have multiple conditions including autism and learning disability. Jen is also autistic herself.

Jo Wilcox: Jo is a Nurse and Clinical Lead for a Children’s Learning Disability Team.

With Support from:

MENCAP (https://www.mencap.org.uk)

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The Challenging Behaviour Foundation (https://www.challengingbehaviour.org.uk)

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CK Burke, Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities

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At a Glance

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• This resource is for people who have a family member with a learning disability to offer support during the COVID-19 outbreak.

• This is a difficult time for everyone, especially for those with a learning disability and their families who may be feeling forgotten. 

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• There is a mixture of reading material and videos and you can just look at the bits that you think will help you.

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• There are also links to other resources and numbers to ring for more help and support.

• Everything here has been created by experienced family carers and professionals working together. 

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